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Your boyfriend doing DoorDash would actually be counted as employed in the statistics, even if it's not sustainable income. The unemployment rate measures whether people have any work, not whether they have adequate work or work in their field. That's why the underemployment rate and labor force participation rate give a more complete picture of job market health.
I went through something similar when I was trying to understand why I wasn't eligible for extended benefits. The counselor at the workforce center explained that actual unemployment includes people actively searching, but there are also discouraged workers who aren't counted. Plus people working reduced hours, temporary work, or jobs way below their skill level. The 3.8% is just one piece of a bigger puzzle.
Don't get your hopes up too high. The whole system is designed to deny as many people as possible. They'll probably say your attendance issues were willful misconduct and deny your claim. Then you'll have to appeal and wait months for a hearing. It's all a joke.
I had such a hard time getting through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about this exact situation. Spent hours on hold and kept getting disconnected. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me reach an actual agent who could explain the rules for my specific case. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me so much frustration trying to get answers about whether I could transition from workers comp to unemployment when my claim ended.
The whole system is so confusing! Why can't they just have one program that covers all situations when you can't work? Makes no sense to have workers comp AND unemployment with completely different rules and agencies handling them.
ugh the NYS Department of Labor website is such a pain to navigate and their phone lines are always busy! I spent hours trying to get through when I had questions about my application. Has anyone found a better way to actually talk to someone there?
I had the same problem trying to reach NYS Department of Labor agents about my claim status. After weeks of busy signals, I found this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that actually gets you through to unemployment agents. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. It was a lifesaver when I needed to resolve an adjudication issue that was holding up my benefits.
Anderson Prospero
The whole system is rigged anyway. They say unemployment goes down but half the people just stop looking for work or take crappy part-time jobs that don't pay enough to live on. The real unemployment rate is way higher than what they report. Companies just want cheap labor now.
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Sienna Gomez
•yeah but at least if more jobs open up we have more options even if they're not perfect
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Tyrone Hill
Same boat here! Been looking for 4 months in marketing too. I've noticed more remote positions opening up lately which is encouraging. Keep track of your applications for the job search log - I use a spreadsheet to make sure I hit the 3 contacts per week requirement.
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